Siblings
by Narina Nightfall
Summary: Were Elladan and Elrohir the only set of elvish twins in Middle Earth? When a gift of forsight shows that both Aragorn and Legolas are in danger, what will happen to them? Warning: AU
1. Chapter 1

Siblings

By: Narina Nightfall

Disclaimer: I do not own the Tolkien's world or his characters. I love them in the depths of my heart, but sadly, they are not mine. All Original Characters are though. If you ask nicely, you can borrow them.

A/N: This is my first Lord of the Rings fic. I would really appreciate any comments that will encourage me to write more or give me ideas. No flames. They will be given to my cats as claw sharpeners. J Aragorn was adopted by Elrond and is a brother to the twins. His elvish name is Estel. 

**Chapter 1**

Legolas looked over the walls of Helm's Deep. The carnage and death he still saw in the fields disgusted him. How had it come to this?

          He had killed orcs for years in his homeland, but never had so many lives been lost on his side of the battle. Mirkwood had been dark and dangerous for many years. Rohan was full of villagers. Not warriors. The loss of a man's life was not mourned among the elves, but Legolas's 'unnatural' companionship with men, especially Aragorn, had made him more susceptible to grief when one or many died. He grieved along with the men of Rohan.

          He looked up. The sound of hoof beats had reached his ears had reached his ears from many miles away. In the distance, he saw a cloud of dust and a couple of horse-like shapes within it. 'Who would be coming here?' he wondered.

~*~*~*~

          "Why _did_ I come here?" wondered a cloaked and hooded elf who approached Helm's Deep in the company of 5 others. Another elf rode 10 feet in front of the other 3, and 2 rode 10 feet behind.

          "You know, I'm not really sure. _You_ were the one that told us we had to come with you to Rohan to hunt down our brother because you were having a bad _feeling_ about him," said a dark haired elf who was grinning rather mischievously.

          "It was a very_ strong_ feeling, Elrohir. And your _adar_ told me to go," said the elf defensively. "Knowing your brother, something really bad has happened. And if you even _mention, _the look that Glorfindel gave me."

          "He wouldn't dream of it," said identical dark haired elf. "I have to say that I'm surprised that Glorfindel would agree to come after the last prank you pulled on him. The pink hair dye was funny, but I don't think Glordindel appreciated that you put it on his hair, horse, _and_ cat. I heard Glorfy whispering something about pain, torture, death, and punishment to _ada_ before he left."

          "Then how did your father convince him to come?" asked the elf.

          "Apparently, the post just arrived and he got another letter from your _adar_," said Elrohir.

          The elf made a face. "I told him to quit sending those. That letter he sent Lord Elrond about my brother's safety was bad enough. It was full of 'If one hair on my son's head is touched by those filthy sons of yours, I will buy some oliphaunts from the Haradrim and let their chaos loose on Rivendell.' The ones my father sends for me are even worse. 'Make sure that those sons of yours don't corrupt my daughter. She already has these crazy notions that she should be able to learn the arts of war.'

          "Is that why you haven't gone home in 300 years?" asked Elladan.

          "That and the fact that my father would choose me a husband if I went home."

          The blond elf in the front rode slightly nearer. If you looked hard, you could see glints of pink in his hair. "We are almost to Helm's Deep, my lady," Glorfindel said stiffly. "Would you like to bring out the flags?"

          "I would like to surprise my brother. Put up the flag of Rivendell," said the elf.

          "Very good, my lady."

~*~*~*~

          Aragorn sat on the wall sharpening his sword. A party had been spotted this morning. They were headed for the keep. It looked to be a small party, but there was never any harm in being prepared. He watched as the party's flags went up. The flags of Rivendell?

          He ran down the stairs swiftly. A party of guards, heavily armed, stood at the gate. "Open the gates. It is a party from Rivendell."

          As the doors opened, Aragorn saw two faces that were as familiar as his own. "Welcome! It is good to see you, my brothers."

          "What have you been up to, you scoundrel? Do anything interesting?" asked Elladan as he dismounted.

          "We just fought off 10,000 Urukhai with the help of Gandalf. That interesting enough for you?" asked Aragorn.

          "Well, you've certainly been doing more than that since I last saw you, Estel," said a voice from behind the twins. "You've grown scruffier. Would you happen to know where my orc of a brother is?"

          "Keri?" asked Aragorn. He had not seen the elf in almost 10 years.

          "Yes, its me. Your brothers kindly decided to escort me to Rohan when I had a.feeling that you and my brother were in trouble."

          "I'm afraid that you're too late. We've already fought the battle against the Urukhai."

          Keri cocked her head at an angle and stared at the ranger. Aragorn shifted, uncomfortable. His adar had a _look_ that he used to make his sons and patients do what he wanted. Keri's was almost as bad. Her glare made you feel like either you'd insulted her, or you'd insulted yourself. Especially since you could only see her deep blue eyes which shined like the sea.

          "The danger I have felt has not yet happened. It might not even come to be. I felt it best to come well before the trouble."

          "You speak in riddles. I wish you wou." Aragorn stumbled as he was shoved aside by a group of warriors. King Theoden had come to greet his guests.

          "Welcome my lady, my lords. Helm's Deep is not particularly hospitable, but we hope that the remainder of your stay will be present. Who is the leader of your party?" asked Theoden.

          Keri stepped forward. "I speak for Rivendell and Mirkwood. There are three of us from each realm. Glorfindel stands for Rivendell, and I, Kerinya Thranduiliel, stand for Mirkwood. We come to speak with family members, and we bring tidings from the other parts of Middle Earth. We are tired. Our journey has been long. We request to speak of it tomorrow."

          King Theoden was taken aback by the female elf who carried the sword and bow of the man's world and went cloaked with only her dark eyes showing. He was used to strong willed females, but he had never met one quite like this. It would be interesting to see what effect Kerinya would have on Eowyn. She had charmed him with her innocent looks, and their party did look tired so he quickly nodded his assent and sent them to their beds.

_adar/ada_-father/daddy

What did you think? Press the little button in the corner. You know you want to. Please.*gives puppy dog look*. I want to use more elvish in the future, but I'm going to need a little help. So, are there any elvish speaking people out there who would just love to help me? Next chapter, Keri meets her brother. Family reunion. We'll get to the bloody and angsty parts later.


	2. Chapter 2

Reviews! I got so many reviews. It made me incredibly happy, because when I first posted it, I got none at all, so I thought no one liked my story. Apparently, that is not true. Thank you for all the positive comments, and I tried to get this chapter out as soon as possible, but I am busy with school and things.

Small question. If she's a girl, would I use Thranduiliel ,as in daughter of Thranduil, or would I use her mother's name, whatever it is?

Chapter 2

Keri looked up at the battlements. 'I thought he'd be here' she thought. 'He never could resist the pull of the stars.' She silently walked up to him.

"_Mae Govannen, _Legolas," she said softly.

The elf turned around swiftly. He had not heard anyone one coming. The only one who could approach him so softly was...

"Kerinya!"

Legolas rushed forward and swept her into his arms. He had not seen his twin sister in over tenyears. She had been traveling with the rangers and visiting Lorien and Imladris…while he wasn't there. It gave him great joy to see her again. While ten years was not normally a long time to spend apart for elves, ever since he had been spending time with mortals, he had started feeling time flow faster, and he had missed his sister.

He pushed back the hood she continually wore onto her shoulders and just looked at her. Many female elves thought him handsome, but in comparison to Keri, he was a donkey to her butterfly. Many who saw her thought her cloak hid deformities; that her face was scarred, but the truth was that Keri was truing to survive in a man's world. She couldn't do that if her looks, sex, and species were always attracting notice. So, her golden hair, pointed ears, and beautiful face were hidden beneath a voluminous, black cloak. Aragorn had given it to her for hertwo hundredthbirthday.

"It is good to see you, sister," said Legolas. "I had forgotten how beautiful you were. Still running away from _adar_?"

"Of course," laughed Keri. "I'm trying to make his life more difficult. He hasn't gotten any new wrinkles while we've been gone. Once he gets word that I'm with you, and you just faced downten thousandUrukhai…"

Legolas shook his head. "We two will ever be the trouble makers of the family."

Keri shrugged with a mischievous grin still plastered to her face. "I'm surprised that our father has survived all of our escapades and adventures," she said. Her face suddenly gained a measure of seriousness. "How is Esgalmar doing?"

Legolas's face also lost its carefree look. "He has gotten little better. The healer's don't think he will ever fully recover. He is on his way towards physical healing…"

"How is he physically?" asked Keri. She was very concerned for her older brother. He had been her and Legolas's role model since the age of twenty.

Legolas sighed heavily. "He will never be a great warrior again. The healers say he may, with time, be able to shoot a bow and wield a sword, but it depends on him. His eyes have recovered from the temporary blindness, but he won't have perfect vision. His shoulder is still healing along with his leg, but…"

"Yes?" Keri urged.

"Keri…," Legolas said and paused. "He is afraid to face the world. He is afraid to face what he has become. He is afraid to live."

And the proud elf of Mirkwood broke down and wept, his twin sister holding him in her arms and sharing his grief.

So, what do you think? Review. You know you want to. Just press the little button in the corner and write away.


	3. Chapter 3

I've been informed that my story is very AU since there were no parties riding towards Helm's Deep at the time of the Fellowship. Sorry to all of you who thought this was painfully obvious. I shall make sure to put it in the summary so that people are forewarned.

In any case, I'm not sure whether I'm going to go off the books or movie verse. It really depends. For this part, I'm going to stick to the movie. I think.

For all you people who though this was going to be a Helm's Deep fic, sorry. Onlyone small portion takes place there a.k.a. the first two chapters. I decided it wouldn't be good to try to combine my fic with the story of the Fellowship. Tolkien is just too awesome.

In this chapter, we discover more of what's happened to the twins' brother and Eowyn meets an elf who takes after her own heart.

Chapter 3

They left Helm's Deep in the morning. Keri had held her brother throughout the night, just as she had for him when they were children. Their older brother, Esgalmar, was a sore point for both of them. A year ago, Esgalmar had been the perfect older brother. He was a fine, strong warrior and everyone knew he would make a wonderful king.

During a hunting trip, the party had been ambushed by orcs. He alone survived. He had been tortured for days and when a wraith appeared, his mind was tortured as well as his body. When the search parties found him, the orcs had left him for dead. His back was in tatters and the wraith had given him some sort of poison. It clouded his vision, making him unable to see. Even worse, on his way home, Esgalmar had fallen from the horse which was carrying him and broken a wrist and ankle, as well as dislocating his shoulder.

The healers had done what they could. Kerinya had heard the news as she had been traveling through southern Gondor. Even had she wanted to, she could not have traveled to Mirkwood fast enough to make any difference. She had wanted to speak to her brother and comfort him, but she was in an ongoing fight with Thranduil over her 'womanliness'. Not even for her twin would she return home to face their father. She had stayed away from Mirkwood for overthree decadesand if she had her way, she wouldn't be returning for another one. She was determined that their father treat her with respect and acknowledge her right to be a warrior. In Legolas' opinion, it was going to take a lot more thanthirty years to change Thranduil's opinions on what a woman's 'place' was.

As the large party of people traveled towards the Halls of Edoras, Kerinya moved towards the back. She did not wish to be so noticeable, as she was at the front of the column. She could talk to former acquaintances later. As she let her horse's gait fall from a trot to a walk, she noticed a fair haired lady at the back of the party. She grinned and sidled over to the young one.

The lady glanced at her, then swiftly looked down at her horse's ears. Kerinya merely laughed. It wasn't often she met potential human woman warriors, and when she did, she always talked to them. If she wasn't being assaulted by orc hoards at the time, she thought dryly. She sighed and began to speak.

"I do not intend to bite off your nose, child. I only wish to speak to you."

The woman gave her a suspicious glare then asked, "And what do you wish to speak to me of? If my uncle…"

Keri laughed again and said, "Ah…a blunt one. No child, your uncle did not ask me to try to persuade you against the life of a woman warrior and to tell you that you are reckless and foolhardy. But first…introductions must be made. I am Kerinya Thranduiliel, an envoy, of sorts, from Mirkwood, and my brother is the elf with the big nasty bow. Now its your turn."

The woman smiled cautiously and said, "My name is Eowyn and _my_ brother is the one on the nasty large horse. You are Legolas' sister?"

"Oh, aye!" Kerinya replied laughing. "The two scoundrels are we, and we live in a tree. Our father is merry, but we must not tarry. For his temper is great, and his brain small. We would not want him to take a big fall." The merry wood elf winked at Eowyn. "A song my twin and I came up with at the age of 20. It's now so stuck in the minds of the occupants of Mirkwood, a chisel could not extract it. Of course, our father has banned people from singing it." And the wood elf laughed merrily once more.

Eowyn laughed long and hard. After she had calmed down, she straightened up in her saddle and asked, "May I ask you a very personal question?

Kerinya blinked and smiled. "I think I know what you wish to ask. My brother had spoken some little amount to me on the subject, but I will not spoil your questioning. Ask away," she said and negligently waved a hand at Eowyn.

Eowyn bit her lip, glanced at the front of the column and whispered quietly, "Who is Aragorn's pledged lady? He has spoken of her several times, but never has he told me his elven love's name."

Kerinya looked at Eowyn carefully, "You have fallen hard, young one," she stated slowly, "but I will tell you what you wish to know." She took a deep breath. "Aragorn has always loved one woman. He has known her for a large part of his life. In fact, you could even say that she is his…sister."

Eowyn looked incredulously at Keri. "What? How is that possible? Aragorn told me his lady was elvish and from what I have heard, they do not interbreed. Plus," she continued, "Aragorn is not elvish, so how is it at all possible that he has an elvish sister who he is in love with."

Kerinya made shushing motions. "Do not speak so loudly. Arwen Undomiel, the woman of which we speak, is the daughter of Elrond. Aragorn was adopted into the House of Elrond when he was very young. He became Elrond's adoptive son and therefore Arwen's brother. They fell in love a long time ago. We do not speak of it. Elrond basically banished Aragorn for a time when he found out about this love. Arwen would have to give up her immortality in order to stay here with Aragorn, and that is something Elrond does not want to happen. The pendant you see Aragorn wear is the Evenstar. It belonged to Arwen. It is her token of her love. Both know it would be better for her to leave, but it breaks both their hearts. For Arwen will live forever in the Undying Lands without her beloved, and Aragorn will live a long life here on Middle Earth without her. They will both be unhappy for the rest of their days."

Eowyn stared at Kerinya in the ensuing silence. "How do you know all that?"

Kerinya smiled. "Connections from within. My brother has been Aragorn's best friend for a very long time now. Most of Aragorn's life. They met when Aragorn was 20. Two people could not know more about each other. Legolas spends much of his time in Imladris," she smile sadly. "Him and father get into even more fights, now that I am gone. We used to fight about me, and now Legolas and father fight about me, my other brother, my mother, the weather, anything…," she said, a tear creeping out of the corner of her eye. "So he just stays away, and father becomes even angrier. Soon, our family will be torn apart unto the four corners of the wind," she whispered and then sighed. " But why am I moping? You are sure to have many more questions for me."

Eowyn did. She wanted to know all there was to being a woman warrior who made her own way in the world. As the large party of warriors and villagers made their way back to Edoras, the two woman were never far apart, though Kerinya could always spare a moment for anyone else, be it her brother, a small dog, or a lost child looking forhis or hermother. She spent some time visiting a small village which had hosted her on one previous occasion when a terrible storm had struck while she was traveling.

Eowyn admired her deeply. Here was a woman unafraid to travel in what was thought of as a man's world. Here was a woman who had to deal with the difficulty of being very beautiful and an elf as wellas a father who did not approve at all of what she was doing. Keri was very willing to teach Eowyn some new sword techniques and much of their traveling time was spent discussing their lives.

And so, when the party arrived at Edoras, two new friends had been made and a party still awaited.

What did you think, my precious? Hit the little button in the corner and tell me. You _know_ you want to. Just review. Make my day happier. :)


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